Of Good Books and Good Food

I am currently reading "The Help" by Kathryn Stockett, a first time novelist. It's set in Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 and involves a white recent college grad and two black maids and how their lives intersect when the white woman decides to write a book on the lives of black maids and what they have to deal with. At a time when segregation was rampant and Jim Crow was pretty much the way of life in the south, these three women decide to do something inherently risky by exposing the working conditions of black house maids who end up rearing their white boss's children, among other responsibilities. I am finding this book to be most thought provoking, funny, suspenseful and downright un-put-downable. That segregation was so prevalent even in my lifetime (admittedly, I was only 5 years old the year this book opens) is to my mind quite shocking. I suppose some part of me expected race relations to be a lot further along by that time, but I also remember quite vividly the Civil Rights marches in the 1960's, the Black Panthers and other things that went on during my formative years. Nightly broadcasts on the CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite, which was practically required watching when I was growing up, featured a lot of news about racial tensions and things that were going on during those years. I clearly remember the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1968 and the riots that were sparked as a result. This novel is a sobering reminder of how far we've come since I was young but how far we also need to go, because I suspect that a lot of the hate speech being spewed against our President is partly racist in nature, since President Obama is the very first African-American to break the race barrier and win the Presidency. The novel is also a poignant reminder of the idea that while many southerners were raised by their black maids, they grew up as racists who considered the black race to be inferior and beneath those who are white, even though their maids took care of them all through their formative years. I was elated to visit the author's web site (http://www.kathrynstockett.com/) to find out that the book is soon to be made into a major motion picture. I would be interested to see who they cast in the lead roles. This is such a great book that it needs someone sensitive to the tone of the book and who can see the characters as clearly as I can when I read it. Right now I am mentally casting Gabourey Sidibe as Minny and either Mo'Nique or Queen Latifah as Aibileen, the two black maids in the novel. They fit the physical description of the characters. The main white character, Skeeter, has to be not particularly attractive, tall, gangly and frizzy haired, which is how she is described in the book. I can't think of any actresses who could pull this off, at least not at the moment. She has to be young, a twenty-something, too. Maybe they can find an unknown who can play this role to the hilt. None of the better known actresses I know out there could play this role.

Since my mother's return home from the hospital a little over a week ago, we have been eating very well at her house. Friends of hers have brought over a lot of good food and we've also prepared a lot of good meals ourselves as well. Last week my mom and I took some Easter leftovers and made some delicious bean soup out of it. My brother made spaghetti one night that was quite good as well. One evening, a longtime family friend brought over a gourmet Indian meal consisting of curried chicken, asparagus, basmati rice, naan bread and chutney. It was absolutely delicious and we wolfed it down hungrily. A dessert of blueberry pie was also brought over but we were all too full to enjoy it, so we had some later on in the week. Another longtime family friend sent some dried soups so last night we prepared a lovely meal of Italian tortellini soup, spinach salad, Italian bread and washed it all down with some good Cabernet Sauvignon wine. One evening we heated up some leftover bean soup which was better the second time around for all the good seasonings to be able to blend in and make it taste better. It was also thicker the second time as well. We've been fortunate to find a great fresh baked five grain Italian bread at our local grocer's bakery and we've been chowing down a lot of that with our dinners of late. I feel like I am being spoiled by having all this great food at my mom's, but nothing gives me greater pleasure than to sit down at the dinner table with those I love the most, my family, and share great food and drink together. It gets lonely eating by myself night after night in my tiny apartment and to break bread with those to whom I am closest is nothing short of sacred to me. I love the feeling of togetherness that happens when people who love one another sit and share a good meal.

The three things I love the most are good food, good music and good books. Sharing those with the people I love the most is the best of all worlds, and lately, it has been my pleasure to do all three of these things. Add to that the fact that spring is upon us and the dark days of winter are finally over and behind us and I can honestly say that these are the happiest of times in my life, to be able to spend time with my family sharing the things that bring me the greatest pleasures in life.